Press bomb

Oct 29, 2025 Features / Columnists, The GHK Lall Column

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Hard Truths by GHK Lall

(Kaieteur News) – A bomb shatters the peace and silence of a Sunday night.  A six-year-old child is snatched away from the warmth of her family, blown into the frozen arms of eternity.  What happened?  Who did it and why?  When Guyanese needed to be informed of developments by the minute, if only to calm their anxieties, that was when the blowout was accompanied by the equivalent of a press lockout and an information blackout.  There are those who like to say that Guyana is not North Korea.  Maybe it isn’t just there yet.  But what is Guyana then, North Korea on the move, North Korea in the making, and well along that road?  That is, North Korea Lite, and one with a twist?

If those in charge can be so resourceful as to come up with ideas and ways to keep the press at bay in the immediate aftermath of such a crucial, nerve-wracking set of circumstances, then Guyanese had better get used to that kind of darkness saturating their lives.  Rather conspicuously, transparency was not one of the priorities mentioned in that second address of a few weeks ago, likely for a reason.  The Sunday night bomb blast did more than tear a hole in the hearts of several grieving families.  It drilled a hole in Guyanese heads.  Small parcels of information to the press for dissemination to their various viewers/readership would have helped citizens to get a solid sense of what Guyana is dealing with, and how measured their own reaction must be.  The fact that Spanish-looking seeped into the narrative coming out of the bomb blast only added to the unease of Guyanese.

If such a carefully selected target, such a craftily chosen hour, and such a determinedly bomber crew to get the job done, after the setback of one human wall encountered, what does that say about what Guyanese are faced with, and the new realities that hang over their existence.  They could be in crowded Georgetown or in the deep interior, and it may not matter, for the safety shield that Guyanese long took for granted has just been ruptured.  This was when those in charge had to have their people on the ground (which they did); and when a stream of details, however scanty, had to be forthcoming.  The press is not the enemy.  The detonation of that bomb points to who the real enemies of Guyanese are.  Both those at the political level, and those who function as public servants, must learn to do better.  They can quibble and quarrel in the old way, but they must find a way to will themselves to knowing what is right in certain circumstances, and doing what is better.

When there are those with the power in their hands, who still resize and reduce this country to factions, then a priceless gift is given on a platter to those who covet so much of what is the legitimate inheritance of every citizen born here.  Somebody said it, but intelligence from the ground up requires eyes and ears that are loyal, that are made to feel that they are a part of a national struggle against an unknown and unannounced adversary, a cancer, in the belly.  I am surprised that the foreign suspect has been caught; thought that he would be long gone back to wherever he originated from, will find ready, welcoming sanctuary.  Let there be no mistake: what split last Sunday night into pieces was not a random event, a moment of passion and heat.  It was well-planned and somewhat well-executed to inflict physical damage, and the maximum in psychological injury.  God forbid, but how will Guyanese react should there be that most undesired of developments -another of such blasts wherever and whenever it unfolds?

In closing, one of the first actions that I would recommend to be taken at the highest level, after the dust has settled, is for that female pump attendant to be called in, saluted, and given a high national honour.  Plus, a rich package of thanks for saving the night from being a greater conflagration, and to what that could have led, what that would meant to the national psyche.  The man who helped with the children and braved the moment in a stunning instance of heroism must also come in for special mention and special reward.  We need each other, and anyone who says otherwise is the worst of self-deceivers.  The press must be kept in the loop, used as an asset, so that Guyanese are kept abreast of worrying developments.  In that manner, rumour and speculation are limited in how much harm they can deliver.  Compartmentalization and regimentation hinder and hurt.  No one is helped.  If Guyanese are going to stand a chance, they had better be of one mind.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)      

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• bomb, bomb shatters, GHK Lall, press

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